Monday, May 23, 2011

If you are just joining us, last Monday we shared Day One of the Trip of Coexistence. If you haven't read it yet, feel free to click on that link so that you'll be in the know!

You don't have to read it, of course. You can be a rule breaker and we won't tell anyone. Pinkie swear!

Day two began with the lovely aroma of coffee brewing, and the proof that the Easter Bunny had, indeed, come to visit!

There was a basket for the boy who loves Milky Ways...

one for the girl who loves Reese's Peanut Butter Cups...

and one for the other boy, who just happened to be a Reese's lover, too!

After the baskets were pulled apart for closer inspection, the gang got ready to head over to the Captain's Grille at the Yacht Club for Easter brunch. We were all quite excited about the idea of not only delicious breakfast items, but also the promise of crab legs and mussels. We had perused the menu online before our trip, and what we read made us drool in anticipation!

Sadly, although the buffet was amazing, there were no crab legs or mussels. There were crab cakes, though, which were quite delicious. Most importantly, there was bacon.

There were also many other things that made my mouth happy.

I didn't notice any of these things below on the kid's plates, but that's okay. They had their bacon and bagels to keep them happy!

Oh, and the best part? The dessert table. Yum!

Can't you see the excitement on her face?

All those desserts, and the thing they loved best? The little chocolate pieces that sat on top of the tidbits of tastiness!

After filling our tummies and making our taste buds happy, we headed out into the gorgeous day. Next stop? The boat to MGM Studios!

Yes, I know it's called Disney Hollywood Studios. In our home (and blog!), it will always be known as MGM Studios, though.

Once we got into the park, the kids couldn't wait to use the gift card that had been left in each of their baskets. Since all three love Vinylmations, I guess you can figure out where they headed first.

After scoring some pretty cool finds, we all decided to head over to see what the wait time was for Toy Story Mania. Yes, we were still coexisting, even when we had to make tough decisions like that!

On the way, we all stopped for the perfect photo op.

The kids also stopped for a moment of deep discussion. I believe there was still coexistence happening, but Connor appears to be thinking, "Hmmm. I think I'll stay out of this one!"

Once we saw that the wait time wasn't an hour, we were good to go. This is one attraction that we all love so much that we don't mind waiting a little bit. Plus, there is so much to look at that it never seems long at all!

I can just see one of the Red Sox boys doing this to our Yankees girl!

Chococat doesn't even mind waiting, as long as he gets to visit with Mr. Potato Head!

Chris shows a surprised Renee the gigantic state (haha!) in which he lives in.

Even the area where you wait for your ride vehicle is filled with plenty of eye candy!

There are not only books to read...

but games to play.

After a wonderful spin, our ride was over much too quickly. Why is it that the things we love the most never last very long?

Mr. Connor was in need of a snack, so we decided to walk towards the closest counter service we could find. Along the way, we found something so fantastic, I just had to document it!

I must add here that Ed scrubbed his head for 5 minutes after placing that Duffy hat on his head. One day, I will share the story of how Ed believes that Duffy the Disney Bear will steal your soul. It is quite funny, which makes that photo above the best shot ever. I continue to laugh at it every single time I see it!

Once the little snack was devoured, we decided to head over to see some Muppets. Along the way, the kids wanted to stop to do a little 'Singin' in the Rain'.

As usual, the Muppets brought some pretty huge smiles to our faces. To continue the fun, we decided to make a little detour into the gift shop. Our friend, Michele, who blogs over at GrowDammit!, is a huge Kermie fan. We had to take a photo to send to her so that she would know how much she was being missed.

The best part of this photo? Chris pretending to pick his nose! Somehow, I know she would approve of that silly behavior.

These hats? Want!

After all of the walking, waiting, and laughter of the day, we were hungry! Off to the 50's Prime Time Cafe, where Ed shows us that father really does know best.

I really have no idea why I didn't take any photos of our dinner. Perhaps, it was because we were too busy enjoying our steak with red wine sauce, which Renee declared 'quite robust'.

It also could have been our amazing waitress, Mandy, who named these three Shaggy (Chris), Slurpee (Connor), and Sassy (Renee).

Either way, there may not be many photos, but there was much laughter!

We could have hung around the park longer, but the suggestion was thrown into the air that some pool time might be fun. As parents, who were we to disagree? After a quick ride back to the resort and the changing from shorts into swimsuits, the quiet pool called their names.

As the coexisting kids swam and splashed, the coexisting parents chatted and enjoyed this beautiful view of Downtown Disney.

Ahhhh. What a beautiful night.

And what a wonderful day we had! I was very worried about how our first Easter without Mom would make us feel, but spending it with our dear friends at the place that makes us the most happy made all of the difference in the world.

And although I don't seem to have as many photos of this day, I realize now that it was because I was immersed in the moment. I just know that Mom was with us, smiling as she made sure that we were making plenty of new memories. She would want that for us.

Next up: Day Three, otherwise known as Teppan Edo day. Did Renee and Chris leave any steak for anyone else? Did the adults ever make it back for a Grey Goose Slushie? Check back next week to find out!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I have no idea how we started watching Little Miss Perfect. Perhaps Wilson had watched it first and shared the details of one of its unbelievable episodes? Either way, although we've never agreed with the whole child pageant scene, we just couldn't avert our eyes from the train wreck!

Renee especially found the coached, exaggerated facial expressions quite hysterical. Often, and mostly in public places, she would send Mark and I running with fake horror at her random reenactments of that week's best pageant moments.

Just imagine Renee doing both voices...Scary Mother on the Show: "Come on, honey, do your sassy face for Mama!"

Child Who Really Doesn't Want to Be There: "Nooooooooo!"

Scary Mother on the Show: "Mama will buy you a Nintendo DS if you do it for her!"

Monday, May 16, 2011

Hey, gang! Today, we are going to try this 'day of the week' theme thing again with Mickey Monday! As we mentioned before, it will always have something to do with Mickey. Oh, and if we are super lucky, it will tell the tale of a recent trip. This week, the story begins with day one of...dun, dun, dun!!!!...The Trip of Coexistence.

Once upon a time, there was a family who was crazy about the Red Sox.

One day, they met a family who was crazy about the Yankees.

Well, the Dad of the family was crazy about the Yankees. The girls in the family were just crazy about the Dad who was crazy about the Yankees!

In the world of rivalries, you can't get any better than the one between the Yankees and the Red Sox. The one thing which always brought these families together, though, was their love of the Mouse.

They had met and vacationed together down at their Happy Place (Walt Disney World, for those of you who couldn't figure that out) in April of 2009 (The Trip of Getting to Know You), April of 2010 (The Trip of Getting to Know You Better!), and November of 2010 (The Trip of Let's Pretend That It's Christmas!).

Although there haven't been any blog posts written about those trips (time just wasn't on our side), there are photos. Perhaps one day, we will share some tidbits of those tales with you, too!

This year, though, was a little different. For all of those other trips, both families would book their own hotels and meet up early in the day for their daily dose of Disney fun. But one day, the Yankees family persuaded the Red Sox family to join in on the savings of being Disney Vacation Club owners. Now, there would be the opportunity for both families to pool those vacation points together and stay in larger accommodations! Woo-hoo!

Could they do it, though? Could Yankees fans and Red Sox fans coexist together for seven days and not be at each other's throats? The answer to that would be a big YES, especially when they were going to stay at the Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa!

Eleven months in advance, reservations were made. As they began their countdown, the Yankees and Red Sox families would Skype every Friday night and plan out all the exciting things they were going to do while staying at the Treehouse Villas. When there was one week left, every detail was in place. All they needed to do was to get through that last week!

The time had come! On Saturday morning, the two families met in the parking lot of a McDonald's near Downtown Disney. Classy, huh? The Red Sox family had just arrived on an early morning flight, and the Yankees family had spent the night at a friend's house who lived nearby. They excitedly made their way over to Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa to check in for their week of magic. Of course, they knew that their room wouldn't be ready, so they headed over to relax near the Turf Bar.

The coexisting kids anxiously awaited their turn to hit the pool table...

while the Dads enjoyed a cold beverage.

Shhhhh! The Pool Sharks are busy!

Okay. So a lot of stuff happened in the middle here and I definitely don't have photos of any of those not so fun times. Let's just say that, somehow, our amazing Treehouse Villa had been given to some other family. There is much speculation that this family just happened to be super fans of the Tampa Bay Rays, but who knows? Either way, tears and disappointment were flying everywhere, and we were hoping for a miracle.

A miracle (along with some really cool balloons!) was granted to the coexisting families.

Yes, Virginia, there really is a Disney Vacation Club magical fairy.Either that, or Mickey had something to do with it!

Will it really be party time? Only time will tell!

Oh, yes! When your miracle comes in the form of a Grand Villa, it is most definitely party time!

The faces of the Red Sox kids say it all!

Even the Red Sox parental units were blown away!

Check out Linda's look of surprise!

Connor quickly makes his way upstairs...

and peers down upon his new kingdom!

The master bedroom is downstairs...

with a lovely master bath attached.

As Linda enters her beautiful room, she finds a Hidden Mickey awaiting her!

Renee and Mark check out the size of the living room to make sure there will be plenty of room for dancing...

then Renee quickly makes her upstairs to claim a bed for herself!

On the other side of the Villa, the boys rush to claim their 'boy space' for the week.

As usual, Mark is transfixed by a television! Ha!

Ed and Linda learn that there is a door upstairs so they can check up on their boys. Well, only if they aren't behaving themselves, which would never happen at Walt Disney World, right?

Mark checks out the condition of the sofa cushions...

while the Yankees girls check out the rest of the Villa. First up, the gihugic dining room!

And look! Another Hidden Mickey!

There is such an open view from the dining room into the kitchen and adjoining bathroom.

Renee shows how lovely the bathroom vanity really is...

and encourages you to place the cold beverages of your choosing into the currently empty refrigerator.

"Oh, my! Look at this oven!"

"And look! A dishwasher!"

After ooohing and ahhhing over their new digs for the week, the coexisting families headed to the local Publix to grab some food to fill that empty refrigerator. Seeing that the next day was Easter Sunday, they also picked up a dozen eggs and supplies for decorating.

I still wonder if that was really a good idea.

Ummm, kids? You're not supposed to drink the dye!

Chris explains to Renee the art of dying eggs, while Connor ponders the existence of the Honey Badger.

Such concentration!

"Which color shall I use?"

Connor was all about the green!

Chris is seriously bothered by this strange growth on one of the eggs. "Ewwwww!"

Pretty!

Guess who did these?

While the kids decorated their eggs, Mark and Ed made sure that the sofa was, indeed, comfy!

Did you notice that Mr. Yankees Man, Mark, was sitting next to Mr. Red Sox Man, Ed? Did you also take notice of Ed's Red Sox pants? Yup! Coexistence!

As the evening went on, fingers became dyed along with the eggs...

and the science and art experiments began!

Even with all of that, much fun was had...

and beautiful eggs were created.

It's kind of like friendships. The people within them may be different in their own ways (such as the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry), but the neatest thing is that they all fit together in their own special way.

Yup! I'd say they're some pretty good eggs!

Next up: Day Two, otherwise known as Easter Sunday. Did the Easter Bunny come to visit? Did he bring lots of candy? Could the coexisting continue? Come back next week to find out!

About Me

Meet our little Ohana...Mare, Mark, and Renee. We spend our days attempting to cherish and treasure every single one of life's moments while living, loving, learning, and laughing together. Sometimes, when life allows us, we even visit our favorite place on earth-Walt Disney World.

Followers

Favorite Quotes

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."~Dr. Seuss

I’ve seen how disruptive it can be for parents to have specific dreams for their children. My job is to help my kids foster a joy for life and develop the tools to fulfill their own wishes. My wishes for them are very exact and, given that I won’t be there, I want to be clear: Kids, don’t try to figure out what I wanted you to become. I want you to become what you want to become. And I want you to feel as if I am there with you, whatever path you choose. ~Randy Pausch

Real, natural learning is in the living. It's in the observing, the questioning, the examining, the pondering, the analyzing, the watching, the reading, the DO-ing, the living, the breathing, the loving, the JOY. It's in the joy. ~Anne Ohman

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss